I am here today with a super simple tip for you as we head into the fall season. If you like to use stems in your décor ever season, then this simple tip is something you can use year-round so your stems always look more realistic. This all started when I purchased the dupe for my favorite fall stems that were discontinued. The dupe is from Amazon. the listing photo made them look like an exact dupe for my favorite stems, but when they showed up they were almost the same with some minor differences. There was a color variation with most of all the sheen of the stems and leaves. The leaves on the dupe were shiny and not as realistic as the original. As soon as I shared in my stories, so many of you who were watching agreed and as soon as I mentioned we should journey to make them less shiny, so many of you were on board with that too! I used some Mod Podge which proved to be too thick. I thought about adding some paint, but the easiest method became the winner and it was something I already had on hand.
Unfiltered photo now of the original stems on the left and the dupes on the right:
The simple fix? Matte spray sealer! You can really use any brand, but I had this Rus-Oleum spray on hand. Above, you can see the original stem on the left and the dupe on the right. Photos don’t show just how shiny the leaves are, but you can see videos of the stems over on my Instagram in my stem highlight reel.
All I had to do was spray the Amazon leaves with one to two layers of this matte sealer and they came out beautifully just like the original leaves as far as sheen. And they looked A LOT more realistic. You could apply the matte sealer to faux pumpkins, seasonal stems, and so much more to make them look more realistic or even just more your style. I’ve complied the sources for the matte sealer, stems, and amber vases.
I styled the leaves in our kitchen to show you the finished product after I sprayed them with matte sealer, but I may even go in with more and see what happens. I’m sad the leaves are sold out now, but I will alert when they come back in stock.
